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Friday, May 25, 2007

Photoshop

Here I am sitting in a room crammed with art supplies—most of which I know how to use and have some facility with—and I’m just not using them. Why is this?Aside from drawing in my journal, I haven’t been doing any hands-on artwork for several weeks now. True, I have a lot of other things on the go right now, but when I do have some free time, I head straight to the digital? Why is this?I’ve been thinking about it today, and decided that when it comes to expressing my creativity, I’m more of a mental person than a physical one. I don’t mean I’m crazed or demented…okay, maybe a little, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. No, by mental I mean it’s the thinking/experimental part of creativity, which engages me most. That’s why I enjoy Photoshop so much. It helps me to take my vision of what could be as far as it can go. To be honest, I don’t usually know where that is. I do recognize the right place when I get there though.Working in Photoshop isn’t any faster than using traditional methods…not for me anyway. What I do like is being able to do multiple versions of an idea, working away until I get what I’m after. Obviously there’s a lot more flexibility with the digital because starting again from scratch is easier. I’ve been playing with mandalas lately, and when I finished this one just before dinner, I didn’t like it. But no matter, I learned a couple of new things during the process, and I can always go back and work on it again.

My art has appeared several times in ATC Quarterly. It's the coolest zine around.

Moos created by several artists in Europe and North America, including me, were published in this issue.

RubberStampMadness did an interview with me here on my mail art activities and also published several of my stamps and postcards. I went on to write for the magazine and did articles, interviews and a column called "The Creative Process" which prompted me to write my book.

Canadian Scrapbooker published an article I wrote and illustrated on making ATCs.

Teesha Moore published my digital collages in a couple of issues of her popular zine "The Studio."

A four-page article on Photoshop Tips for Teesha Moore's Art & Life

One of my book forms appears in Somerset Gallery III.

A couple of pieces of my art appeared in the first issue of Somerset Gallery.